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7 June 2013 at 7:15am

Welsh Tory chief to tell Scots devolution can work

Opposition leader Andrew RT Davies will speak to Scottish Conservatives at their conference in Stirling later. He'll use his speech to highlight the benefits to Wales and Scotland of being part of the United Kingdom.

He's expected to acknowledge that there has been hostility to devolution in the party in both countries but will argue that devolution suits Conservative values.

We must be honest with ourselves. Devolution has not been a universally popular process in the Conservative Party. We know it has not been a process that we have universally embraced, but time has shown that people want locally made decisions. Conservatives want locally made decisions. But we have dusted ourselves off and we have changed. I believe that is a good thing.

Devolution is not left wing or separatist, but it won’t be Conservative unless we make it so.

– Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Opposition

And to back up that claim he's expected to tell the Scottish Tories that recent policy launches by his group here in Wales show how a centre-right agenda can be promoted in a devolved context:

Over the past few months, my team and I in the Assembly have set our face to the task of doing Conservative things with devolution – and what a refreshing change it’s been. Whilst other parties have been determined to speak of nothing other than the constitution, the Welsh Conservatives have been setting out tax cutting agendas, small business financing schemes, even the privatisation of an airport. Conservative policies in a devolved setting, putting our values at the heart of everything we do: Localism, individual empowerment and economic liberty.